When Your Husband Breaks His Leg

October 26, 2017

A couple weeks ago my husband broke his leg/ankle. I won’t get into details, but it’s been hard on all of us. Hence, why I missed my weekly Wednesday post last week. Which I want to apologize for, even if no one really noticed! On top of it, Lucy and I both have nasty colds and are just really feeling crappy, so it’s been no fun for everyone.

Over the past week and a half, I’ve really started to have a lot more respect and sympathy for single parents. It’s not easy to do everything alone, and still make time for yourself. (Props to all of you single parents out there kicking butt!) Luckily I’m still able to throw Lucy on his chest and make him help watch her a little bit, but it’s still been really tough.

Naturally, she instantly goes right for his leg, fascinated by the giant blue cast and massive ice blocks surrounding it. She has no idea the pain she’s inflicting on her poor daddy every time she bounces up and down in excitement. He’s not able to chase her around and play with her as usual either, so she gets frustrated with him when he tries to make her just sit and chill. (Not something Lucy ever does well, even when she’s sick.)

Having a sick baby and a disabled husband is just no fun. Everyone’s crabby, tired, and not feeling well (including me) but the mom’s gotta suck it up and keep it all together. We all know the house would fall apart without us in just a few days, so making sure that doesn’t happen comes before taking care of your stuffy nose and achy body. In these desperate times, we have to look at Disney movies and those loud, obnoxious toys you love so much. I can’t even count how many times we watched Frozen and Moana in the past couple weeks but hey, you do what you gotta do. Survival mode at it’s finest.

Thankfully his mom was able to come up from Los Angeles and help us out. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without her here. Having her here has meant that I could continue to cook nice, healthy dinners for us, keep on top of the cleaning and laundry, and even have a few minutes for a hot bath or some much needed TLC time. I even downed some Nyquil, turned on a noise machine, and got to sleep THE ENTIRE night one night. It was glorious! It’s amazing how one good night of solid sleep can help, especially when you’re sick! I woke up the next morning feeling so much better.

It was also nice to have an experienced mother around when Lucy got a fever if 100 and threw up all over me. If it were just me, I would have freaked out and probably rushed her to the ER. His mom is really good with medical stuff and these kind of things, so I was really appreciative that she could help us navigate through all of it. She was even able to go with us to Aaron’s surgery and helped talk with the doctor to ask the specific questions and concerns we had, which was great because I would have never thought to ask half of those things.

Even with everyone being here, it’s been oddly lonely. He’s been sleeping on the oversized chair we have in the living room, to help keep his leg elevated and immobile, which has been really depressing. It sucks saying I love you and goodnight, then walking into the bedroom and shutting the door behind you. I hate waking up in the middle of the night and realizing he’s not next to me. It’s a bummer every time. We haven’t been able to go out and do our normal stuff like family walks, swim class and our normal errands. It feels like our lives have kind of been put on hold until things can get back to normal. We’re even falling behind on our TV shows because he’s just so out of it from all the pain killers! (Go figure. Laid up on the couch and we’re still falling behind on TV.)

Aaron had surgery last week to have a plate and six screws put in. He’s been managing the pain well and seems to be on the up swing. He had his follow up yesterday, and made it back into the office the next day. I can only imagine how stir crazy he’s going being stuck in the living room for two whole weeks. There is no amount of binge TV watching that could make the time go by faster or easier. I know it’s been hard for our whole family, and I know it’s been even harder for him, but I admire his strength and endurance through this difficult time. He handled it all so well and I’m proud that Lucy can see her daddy be a strong and positive person, even when things totally suck.

Has your significant other ever hurt themselves badly and been laid up on the couch for weeks? How did you handle it and what were some of the things that helped make the time go by easier?! I love hearing from you! Like, comment and share!